Rickell Howard Smith For Judge of the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division

Candidate Details

Residence
Cincinnati
Email
rickellforjudge@gmail.com
Website
rickellforjudge.com
Social Media
facebook.com/rickellsmithforjudge
twitter.com/rickellforjudge
instagram.com/rickellforjudge
Age
42
Occupation
Attorney and Executive Director of Center for Social Justice at Urban League
Education
Rickell holds a B.B.A from Howard University and J.D. from Temple University School of Law.
Work Experience
Rickell is an experienced civil rights attorney, child advocate, and juvenile law expert. Currently, Rickell is the Executive Director of the Center for Social Justice at Urban League and an adjunct professor at University of Cincinnati College of Law where she teaches a course on civil rights litigation.

She began her legal career as a Legal Aid attorney representing clients in eviction, housing discrimination and subsidized housing matters. Rickell went on to become the Director for the Human Rights in Prison Litigation project at the Ohio Justice and Policy Center, where she represented incarcerated persons in Federal civil rights cases. She further developed her expertise in juvenile law as Director of Litigation and Policy at Children’s Law Center, where she spearheaded policy initiatives aimed at improving the lives of young people involved with the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

Her expertise and balanced perspective made her a highly-demanded juvenile law expert locally and nationally. Rickell has trained community members, students, law enforcement, attorneys and policymakers across the country. Locally, Rickell built a successful track record for leading cross-system collaborations to build youth-focused reentry programs, improve youth-police relations, provide legal representation for youth aging out of foster care and to provide supports to homeless youth in our region.
Family
Married with 2 children and two dogs
Affiliations
Rickell’s civic service demonstrates her commitment to strengthening communities and supports for families in Hamilton County. She is currently a member of the Cincinnati City Manager’s Advisory Group (MAG), providing oversight and guidance on Cincinnati’s Community-Police Collaborative Agreement. Her board service is extensive. Most notably, Rickell served on the Lighthouse Community School Board, Central Community Health Board, All-In Cincinnati Racial Equity Coalition Core Team, Board of Trustees of Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio, Women’s Fund of Greater Cincinnati Foundation Leadership Council, is co-chair of the Cincinnati Bar Association’s Criminal and Social Justice Committee and recently joined Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Community Advisory Board for Adolescent Medicine.

Rickell’s commitment to justice and leadership expands beyond our region. Notably, she served on a national school-to-prison pipeline taskforce that included other legal experts from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Southern Poverty Law Center, Juvenile Law Center and ACLU. Rickell is also an alumn of the prestigious Youth Justice Leadership Initiative Fellowship and is currently a member of the inaugural Leaders in Light cohort hosted by the Jewish Community Relations Council.
Endorsements
Rickell Howard Smith is endorsed by the Hamilton County Democratic Party, Cincinnati Women's Political Caucus, Collective PAC, Cincinnati AFL-CIO, National Association of Social Workers-Ohio Chapter, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, Cincinnati Firefighters IAFF Local 48, LiUNA Laborer's Local 265, AFSCME Council 8 PAC, Greater Cincinnati UAW CAP Council and Black Fire PAC. In addition, over fifty individuals including elected officials, faith leaders, attorneys and retired judges have endorsed my campaign for Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge. For a full list of individual endorsers, please visit Rickell for Judge Endorsements

Rickell Howard Smith

Question 1

List your judicial experience (courts and years)

I am a first-time judicial candidate.

Question 2

What non-judicial legal experience qualifies you to be a judge?

I am experienced civil rights attorney, child advocate, and juvenile law expert. I have 15 years of legal experience in many areas including juvenile justice, disability rights, education, prisoner rights, housing and was a lobbyist in the State of Ohio for several years, advocating for the interests of children. I litigated Federal civil rights suits on behalf of children and adults involved with the juvenile and criminal systems. Currently, I am the Executive Director of the Center for Social Justice at Urban League and an adjunct professor at University of Cincinnati College of Law where I teach a civil rights litigation course.

I began my legal career as a Legal Aid attorney representing clients in eviction, housing discrimination and subsidized housing matters. I went on to become the Director for the Human Rights in Prison Litigation project at the Ohio Justice and Policy Center, where I represented incarcerated persons in civil rights matters throughout Ohio. I further developed my expertise in juvenile law as Director of Litigation and Policy at Children’s Law Center, where I represented children and young adults and spearheaded policy initiatives aimed at improving the lives of children involved with the child protection and juvenile justice systems.

My expertise and balanced perspective made me a highly-demanded juvenile law expert locally and nationally. I trained community members, students, law enforcement, attorneys and policymakers across the country. Locally, I have a successful track record for leading cross-system collaborations to build youth-focused reentry programs, improve youth-police relations, provide legal representation for youth aging out of foster care and to provide supports to homeless youth in our region.

Abbreviated Candidate Answers

Rickell is an experienced civil rights attorney, child advocate, and juvenile law expert. Currently, Rickell is the Executive Director of the Center for Social Justice at Urban League and an adjunct professor at University of Cincinnati College of Law where she teaches a course on civil rights litigation.

She began her legal career as a Legal Aid attorney representing clients in eviction, housing discrimination and subsidized housing matters. Rickell went on to become the Director for the Human Rights in Prison Litigation project at the Ohio Justice and Policy Center, where she represented incarcerated persons in Federal civil rights cases. She further developed her expertise in juvenile law as Director of Litigation and Policy at Children’s Law Center, where she spearheaded policy initiatives aimed at improving the lives of young people involved with the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

Her expertise and balanced perspective made her a highly-demanded juvenile law expert locally and nationally. Rickell has trained community members, students, law enforcement, attorneys and policymakers across the country. Locally, Rickell built a successful track record for leading cross-system collaborations to build youth-focused reentry programs, improve youth-police relations, provide legal representation for youth aging out of foster care and to provide supports to homeless youth in our region.

Question 3

Why are you running for this particular court seat?

I committed my career and personal life to protecting children, supporting their families and reforming systems negatively impacting them. I have a proven track record of representing children, collaborating with many in this region to improve outcomes for children and protecting children facing the harshest barriers in our region. I understand the long-term impact of the Juvenile Court’s decisions on children, families and communities. My experience taught me that youth interventions must center the voices and solutions developed by youth and their support systems. I will bring my knowledge of the law and systems impacting children, executive leadership skills, and deep community connections to this role.

Abbreviated Candidate Answers